Under an Iron Moon
by Cyclone
Summary: Xander discovers he's not as normal as he thinks. On hold.
1. Prologue

Title: Under an Iron Moon (0?) 

Author: Cyclone

Feedback: Please be gentle.

Distribution: Gimme credit and a link.

Spoilers: Up to the end of both series.

Disclaimer: The characters depicted herein belong to other people. I'm just borrowing them for a while.

Summary: Xander discovers he's not as normal as he thinks.

Author's Note: THIS is certainly a rare crossover. Credit goes to Yorath for his delightful input and some suggested scenes that will appear throughout this series.

* * *

Dr. Mizuno had seen a lot of strange things in her time, back in her middle school and high school years. A half-conscious man in his twenties with an eyepatch staggering outside her clinic barely even registered as she took him in and began treating his wounds.

Had it not been for the missing eye, the scars, and other evidence of old injuries, she might have dismissed him for a new ganger, fresh from initiation. Even so, she would have been willing to assume that it was connected to the criminal underworld somehow and let it rest at that. That is, if she hadn't spotted the dagger.

It was a double-edged European design, old and worn from repeated - and recent - use, and an odd sheen she couldn't quite place marked it as something other than steel. She was half-tempted to call the police, but there was something... familiar about him, something that told her to trust him, that she should listen to his semi-coherent request to leave the authorities out of this.

So she did.

And when she turned her back, he was gone, a sizeable sum of money left in his place.

When she finally returned home, her thoughts were preoccupied with the lone stranger and the peculiar circumstances surrounding the almost surreal encounter.

She almost didn't hear her Senshi Communicator beeping.

* * *

Xander worked the last cricks out of his neck as he continued toward his apartment. The new bruises he was sporting, thanks to a certain fyarl demon, were still smarting.

_Note to self: Screw the law; pack heat._

Still, it had been a productive night. He'd actually seen the Sailor Senshi in action, which he hadn't really expected.

He'd gotten the hint when Giles had sent him here to investigate them. They had gone dormant years ago, and Japan hadn't seen any real demonic incursions since then.

A working vacation, Giles had called it.

Riiight.

Someone must've thought he was finally losing it. In retrospect, he wasn't sure he disagreed.

The question was... now what?

A shriek snapped him out of his reverie, and he reacted, following the sound into an alley.

He grinned and drew his stake.

* * *

Tomoe Hotaru was not a strong person. True, the sickly weakness that had plagued her in her childhood had passed, but she was still comparatively fragile and weak, Sailor Saturn's powers notwithstanding.

So when the two men had cornered her in an alley, she wasn't about to fight back for some money.

But then... they changed.

Gripping her henshin wand, she was about to transform when another voice intruded.

"Hey, bloodsuckers, over here!"

She blinked.

* * *

At the Gates of Time, Sailor Pluto frowned.

Something was interfering with her precognition.

She would have to look into this.

* * *

"Are you all right?"

Hotaru blinked.

"Um, yeah... how... wha...?"

Her savior smiled ruefully and shook his head.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "By tomorrow morning, all this will seem like a bad dream. Piece of advice, though: Don't invite anyone into your home after dark. C'mon, I'll walk you home or something."

Hotaru smiled gratefully.

She decided he was wrong on one thing at least.

If this was a dream, it certainly wasn't a bad one.

* * *

Author's Postcript:

WANTED: Device for controlling plot bunny populations.

REWARD: Updated fanfiction.

Any questions?


	2. Chapter One

Title: Under an Iron Moon (1?) 

Author: Cyclone

Feedback: Please be gentle.

Distribution: Gimme credit and a link.

Spoilers: Up to the end of both series.

Disclaimer: The characters depicted herein belong to other people. I'm just borrowing them for a while.

Summary: Xander discovers he's not as normal as he thinks.

Author's Note: THIS is certainly a rare crossover. Credit goes to Yorath for his delightful input and some suggested scenes that will appear throughout this series.

* * *

Ami approached the Hikawa Shrine with no small amount of trepidation. 

The message on her Senshi Communicator and her phone and her pager and even in her e-mail was disjointed but urgent.

Something about a new enemy and a stranger who had helped them.

Since Setsuna had assured them that after Galaxia, there wouldn't be another enemy until the Great Freeze, this was rather alarming. Add in that the youma or cardian or whatever they were called this time had kept healing everything the others had thrown at it until the stranger had shown up...

Well, "alarming" was no longer an adequate term.

* * *

The Inners were there, as were Haruka and Michiru, representing all the Sailor Senshi who ranked below "planet buster" level. 

No one knew where Setsuna was, and no one had wanted to disturb Hotaru, whose Senshi attacks were more of the Mutually Assured Destruction variety, and unlike during the Silver Millenium, they were only protecting one planet.

Mamoru was also present, his splinted left arm the most obvious evidence of what had happened.

Ami was the last to arrive, and Haruka waited just long enough for her to see to everyone's injuries before breaking the silence.

"Damn it, what happened?" she demanded.

"We got clobbered," Rei replied succinctly. "Usagi and I got there first..."

* * *

_Flashback_

"...in the name of the moo- ahh!" Sailor Moon shrieked as the youma hurled a parking meter at her.

Ten years ago, she would have whined and complained about it not letting her finish her speech, but though she hadn't been fighting in the intervening years, she had matured.

"Flame Sniper!"

The youma walked through the fiery blast with impunity. Charred flesh faded and healed before her very eyes, and Sailor Mars backed away uncertainly.

"Love and Beauty Shock!"

"Jupiter Oak Evolution!"

The twin attacks came from the rooftops on either side and sent the youma stumbling back as Sailors Venus and Jupiter landed to either side of Mars and Moon.

"Be careful," Sailor Moon warned. "It's not like the ones we fought before."

Which was true. Where their previous enemies looked vaguely female and tacky enough to be funny, this creature appeared male and actually looked somewhat threatening.

Its nostrils flared.

"Move!" Mars shouted as she leaped up, just in time to avoid being ensnared.

As near as the Senshi could tell, the youma had sneezed something at them. It hadn't hit any of them, but none of them was too anxious to know what it did.

Unfortunately, they soon found out anyway.

"Sailor Moon, look out!" Sailor Jupiter called. Sailor Venus leaped to try and get Sailor Moon out of the way, but somehow, the two managed to get entangled with each other as the mucus struck them and hardened.

"I can't move!" Sailor Moon cried as she struggled.

"Me neither!" chimed in Sailor Venus.

Suddenly, a rose seemed to sprout from hardened mucus, shattering it, as Tuxedo Kamen joined the fray.

No speech had seemed appropriate for this situation, so the tuxedo-clad warrior merely drew his cane and lashed out at the youma.

WHAM!

CRUNCH!

"Tuxedo Kamen!" Sailor Moon gasped and rushed over to where the youma had thrown the Prince of Earth into a wall.

"Hey, ugly, over here!"

Suddenly, all heads turned as a figure leaped from the shadows onto the youma, clinging to its back and stabbing it repeatedly. The youma howled and rammed its assailant against a wall, but he clung on stubbornly.

Slowly, with each thrust of the dagger, the youma's movements slowed until it finally slumped to the ground and began to dissolve.

He rose and held up the dagger, "Y'know, it helps if you know what you're fighting. That was a fyarl demon. Unless you use silver, you might as well be spraying it with a garden hose."

He was a gaijin, with dark hair, rugged good looks, and an eyepatch over...

_End Flashback_

* * *

"Wait!" Ami broke in. "An eyepatch? Over his left eye?" 

"Do you know who he is?" Luna asked curiously.

Ami shook her head, "No, but I think I found him stumbling around outside the clinic after the fight. How badly hurt was he?"

"He acted tough," Makoto answered, "but he's definitely going to be sore for a while. I think he might've broken a rib from the way he was walking."

"Cracked three," Ami nodded. "It must be him. Where did you say the fight was?"

"About three blocks from the clinic where you work," Rei said. "None of us thought you'd still be there that late."

"Some last minute paperwork came up," Ami said with a shrug. She was expected to handle some of the grunt-work, after all, since she was still in her residency.

"I find this awfully convenient," Luna frowned. "Did you get his name?"

Ami blushed, "Uh, no. He seemed... familiar. Like I could trust him. And after I treated him, he just disappeared, leaving more than enough money to pay what I might've charged."

* * *

As she walked with her rescuer, Hotaru was torn. Somehow, she just knew that if she didn't do something, the moment she got home would be the last time she saw this man. 

She didn't want that.

She'd never seen anyone who looked so... alone before. He was hurting, in more ways than one, and she sensed a sort of kindred spirit in him. A part of her was desperate to latch onto that.

More than that, he'd saved her from those monsters. It struck her as... odd, that someone, an ordinary person, was both willing and able to fight things like that.

And yet... it was like a weight had lifted. Knowing that others fought, that it wasn't just her and the other Senshi... it was a relief and, in a sense, an affirmation on what they had fought for, even if it had been years since Sailor Saturn had last fought.

She could tell by the way he walked that he was hurt, and she knew at least one way that she could make herself stand out among whoever else he saved tonight.

But she was afraid. Of how he might react, of what he might say... or do.

* * *

"You're hurt." 

Xander flinched, "I'll be fine."

The doctor he'd run into - boy, that was one hell of a blunder, but he hadn't exactly been in any condition to avoid it at the time - had patched him up well, but there was only so much modern medicine could do for cracked ribs, and he had to be careful not to jostle them.

"No, wait. L-let me," she said hesitantly, reaching for his side.

Xander blinked but did not stop her.

A faint glow emanated from her hands, and he felt the pain drain away, and when she pulled back, he lifted his shirt and pulled away the medical tape.

Bruises. Fading bruises and nothing else.

He looked up and saw violet eyes filled with trepidation.

Xander smiled faintly, "Healing magic, huh? Never met anyone who could get it right before."

She blinked at him, not comprehending.

"Name's Xander," he said, extending his hand. "Xander Harris. Err, I mean Harris Xander."

"H-Hotaru. Tomoe Hotaru. You know other people who use magic?"

He nodded, "Well, yeah. You don't last long in the demon-hunting biz without meeting some people." He cocked his head and studied her expression.

Hotaru blushed slightly at the scrutiny.

"You really don't know what those were back there, do you?"

She shook her head.

"They were vampires."

"Vampires!" Hotaru's eyes widened. True, she'd seen and fought all sorts of youma that drained energy from people... but actual, real-life, blood-sucking vampires?

"Yeah. They're not too tough once you get used to fighting them: Fire, wooden stake through the heart, decapitation, holy water, holy symbols. Basically, if it worked in the movies, it works for real. Except silver. And don't rely on garlic; that'll only drive off the weaker ones 'cause of the smell."

"Oh."

They continued in silence for a moment, turning up a walkway.

"So, uhh..." Xander hesitated as they stopped at the door, "not meaning to pry, but how'd you learn magic well enough to heal with it without running into the creepy-crawlies?"

"I... I didn't learn," she mumbled. "I just... I just can."

"Cool," he nodded. "Didn't know there were natural healers. Empaths and telekinetics, yeah, but not healers."

Hotaru stared, "Really?"

"Really. I'll introduce you to some of them some time," he promised as he winked and turned to leave.

"Wait!"

He turned, "Yeah."

Hotaru reached into her purse and pulled out a small notepad. She scribbled something on it and tore the page out, "Here. Call me."

* * *

"So what happened to that fool?" asked the cloaked figure absent-mindedly. 

"Killed," came the response. "By the Sailor Senshi, by all reports."

The cloaked figure's head jerked up, "Damn. So they're still around. And things were going so well too. Tsk tsk. It's so hard to find good help these days."

"What should we do, Master?"

"Nothing," he snorted.

"'Nothing'? But, Master..."

"That idiot got killed because he got bored and went looking for 'fun.' As long as we remain discreet, we have nothing to worry about."

* * *

Author's Postscript: 

You ever notice how the Sailor Senshi's tactics invariably seem to boil down to "hit it until it stops moving"?


	3. Chapter Two

Title: Under an Iron Moon (2?) 

Author: Cyclone

Feedback: Please be gentle.

Distribution: Gimme credit and a link.

Spoilers: Up to the end of both series.

Disclaimer: The characters depicted herein belong to other people. I'm just borrowing them for a while.

Summary: Xander discovers he's not as normal as he thinks.

Author's Note: THIS is certainly a rare crossover. Credit goes to Yorath for his delightful input and some suggested scenes that will appear throughout this series.

* * *

Xander looked around.

Where the heck was he? It looked like some kind of... palace.

Then he looked up.

"Gotta be a dream," he murmured as he stared at the image of Saturn in the sky.

"You catch on quick, kid."

Xander spun.

"Whoa, calm down. Name's Whistler."

Xander took stock. Bowler hat... tacky leisure suit...

"Not impressed with your previous work," he said flatly.

"That was yer own damn fault, kid," the balance demon snorted. "If you'da just let 'er stay dead like she was supposed ta, Ratboy'd never've lost his so-ack!"

The "ack" obviously wasn't what Whistler had intended to say, but being grabbed by the shirt front and slammed against the wall tended to have that effect."

"So... you wanted her to die?"

Whistler swallowed and considered his next words very carefully. "Look... kid... what's past is past. I'm just here to keep an eye on things, 'cause yer a wild card, an' it looks like yer startin' ta remember. You worry da higher-ups."

"Good," Xander smiled humorlessly. "Remember what?"

"You'll see."

With that, Whistler vanished.

Xander shook his head and turned...

...and found himself on a balcony, looking up at the Earth in the sky above, and most importantly, not in control of his actions as he turned at the sound of footsteps behind him. He immediately recognized Hotaru, though her hair was longer and tied back in a simple ponytail.

"Hey, what are you still doing up, my little firefly?" he found himself asking her as he enfolded her in his arms.

She looked up at him and smiled. "I should be asking you that. Still worried about what's-her-name?" she asked as she buried her face in his chest.

"Beryl," he nodded distantly, his eyes unfocusing as the image of a creepy-looking redhead flashed across his vision. "I don't care what the queen says, I don't trust her."

"Well, you'd better not let her hear that," she said, looking up at him again. "I've got enough to deal with with her latest proclamation."

He looked down at her, "I love you, Saturn, not them."

"I know. But she will be expecting heirs."

* * *

Xander bolted upright.

"That..." he murmured, "...was one hell of a weird dream."

He shook it off and glanced at the clock. An hour early. He paused for a moment to debate the merits of just rolling over and pulling the covers back over his head, but he doubted he'd get any more sleep after a weird dream like that.

With a yawn, he climbed out of bed and headed for the shower in the corner of the cramped apartment he rented. In his eyes, the cover job he'd gotten was merely more evidence of how concerned Giles was about him.

Security for the British embassy.

Riiight.

Like anything would ever actually happen at the British embassy in Tokyo. It wasn't like there was a radical anti-British movement lurking around in Japan of all places, after all.

* * *

Somewhere, ominous thunder blinked in surprise as it checked the script.

Strange, it could've sworn it had a cue right there...

* * *

"I really appreciate this, Mamoru," the blond man spoke English with a clipped British accent.

"No problem, Edward-kun," Mamoru replied, also in English. "I know how it is. A bureaucrat makes a mistake on some paperwork, and you have to go in person to get anything done about it."

* * *

Xander's eyebrow shot up as the red sports coupe pulled in. Looked like an older design, but not one he recognized; probably European. Still, those were some niiice wheels.

Two men climbed out and headed for the embassy, but the dark-haired man seemed to stumble for a moment and kept staring at him. He was doing a lousy job of being discreet about it as the two approached.

Xander ignored the blond man as he passed through the security checkpoint and looked at the dark-haired man; he looked vaguely familiar. "Can I help you?" he asked in Japanese.

"Ah," the man started. "Um, no. I'm just waiting for my friend." He hesitated for a long moment, "Umm... if I may ask... your eye..."

Xander smiled. So that was it. "It's glass," he replied. "You've got sharp eyes. Not many people would've noticed. I lost it in an... accident a while back."

"Oh."

Xander nodded at the coupe, "That's a nice set of wheels you've got there. What is it?"

The man glanced back at his car, "It's a nineteen-ninety Zagato/Alfa Romeo SZ. Good car."

"You've been taking pretty good care of it, then," Xander commented. Over fifteen years old, and it still looked like it had just rolled out of the factory. His opinion of the dark-haired man just shot up a few points.

* * *

Mamoru found himself absorbed in the conversation. He was very glad the mention of the man's eye had deflected the man's suspicions, but it felt... a little surreal, actually.

If he hadn't seen him the night before, Mamoru would never have guessed that this man fought demons in his spare time.

By the time Edward was done, Mamoru had a lot to think about. At least he'd managed to pick up a name during the conversation.

Harris Alexander.

* * *

It was late afternoon as Minako wandered the streets of Tokyo. Unlike the other Senshi, she hadn't really found something to do with her life. Makoto was a chef now, Rei still ran the temple, Ami was in her residency...

She sighed. And where was she? Playing gopher and coffee-and-donut-girl at a local newspaper office.

Sometimes -- just sometimes -- she thought back to her teenage dream of becoming an idol singer. It was a childish dream, true, but one she'd attacked with such determination that the only ones who seemed to doubt she'd make it... were the very ones she needed to convince, the ones who dictated whether she'd even have a chance.

She never got that chance, and sometimes, she wondered what would have happened if she had.

Her gaze suddenly locked on to a man walking down the street. It took her a moment to recognize him without the eyepatch, but it was definitely the guy from last night.

Minako's mind went into overdrive as she analyzed him more carefully than she had had time to last night. His features were immediately run through her internal Hunk-O-Meter, and she smiled. It was the smile of a predator about to pounce.

Yes, he definitely qualified as a hunk. He was cu-... no. No, on second thought, "cute" was definitely not the right word for him. He was ruggedly handsome -- dangerously handsome in a way that made her heart race and set her blood on fire -- but not cute.

In another part of her mind, she noted the way he moved, as if he were on the very edge of a fight or flight response at any given moment. He seemed almost unnaturally aware of his surroundings, and her years of experience at covert boy-watching were tested to their limits as she followed him.

A part of her debated alerting the other Senshi... but no. He didn't know she was there, and calling in the others would only risk getting caught.

* * *

Xander felt the hackles on the back of his neck rise. Someone was following him; he could almost feel it.

Of course, he could also just be hyperparanoid. Before running into that fyarl last night, he'd been scouting out the abandoned warehouses along the docks, and one did not look anywhere near as abandoned as advertised once he'd gotten a peek through the boarded windows.

A few questions in a few bars had led to some interesting information involving a certain fishing trawler moored near that particular warehouse that always returned each evening with its nets empty. Widespread rumor had it that the ship was owned by the Yakuza and was smuggling in drugs.

Xander knew better.

One of the first things he'd done upon arriving in Tokyo was get a few lines in on the mortal underworld; after all, he didn't want to waste time dealing with human scum. It was amazing how cooperative the local Oyabun was once he'd made that clear.

No, this wasn't a Yakuza operation, and the Triads were still recovering from their last attempt to get a foothold in Tokyo three months ago. If it was the Triads, then they were getting help. Probably demonic help.

Xander hunkered down and waited. He didn't have much, but he had plenty enough to sink the trawler if he had to.

* * *

Minako ducked behind a row of empty crates, stalking her pre- err, watching the mysterious stranger that had helped them last night.

It looked like he was waiting for something.

Well, okay, she could wait too.

* * *

Author's Postscript:

Okay, so this took a bit longer than previous parts. Hope you enjoyed it.


	4. Chapter Three

Title: Under an Iron Moon (3?) 

Author: Cyclone

Feedback: Please be gentle.

Distribution: Gimme credit and a link.

Rating: Nothing too bad.

Spoilers: Up to the end of both series.

Disclaimer: The characters depicted herein belong to other people. I'm just borrowing them for a while.

Summary: Xander discovers he's not as normal as he thinks.

Author's Note: THIS is certainly a rare crossover. Credit goes to Yorath for his delightful input and some suggested scenes that will appear throughout this series.

* * *

It started with a bang.

Not that anyone heard it, as a foghorn was blowing when the gun went off.

Even so, it sort of upset the beings that had just left the Kage Maru, seeing as how the one in the lead immediately fell over dead.

Minako watched as four of the five remaining youma (?) suddenly formed a defensive circle around the fifth. Another blast from a foghorn, and another one of the monstrous figures collapsed, gurgling and clutching at its throat, where a dark green fluid sprayed out.

* * *

Xander scowled as two of the four survivors charged his position. One of them must've seen the muzzle flash, and these two looked quite a bit tougher than the first two he'd taken out or the other two fleeing for the ship.

He fired.

They kept coming.

"Aw, sh-..."

When Xander landed, he began patting himself down. In a moment, he found what he was looking for... and charged.

* * *

Minako stared as the man ran between the two hulking youma and... did he just slap them on the back?

He threw himself to the ground and rolled over... as the charges detonated.

* * *

Xander was breathing hard as he picked himself up and made a note to wash the eye socket. He'd swapped out the glass eye for the patch earlier -- it was harder to trace or use as a psychometric focus -- and when the demon hit him, it had torn off.

His gaze swept the ground, and he scooped up his Colt; he could find the patch later. Ignoring the pain from his (re)cracked ribs, he calmly replaced the magazine and boarded the ship.

He made a quick sweep of the deck, but as he headed for the hold, gunfire erupted from within, and he was forced to dance back.

"Since when were demons smart enough to use guns?" he wondered aloud with a certain amount of annoyance. Demons generally held guns with a certain amount of... disdain. Aside from a few vampires he'd run into, the demons he knew considered themselves above using guns.

"Screw this," he muttered.

Xander stepped away from the hold and looked around. Finding what he was looking for, he tipped over the 55-gallon drum, spilling the half-barrel of oil across the deck toward the hold.

He stepped back and fired at the deck, then scrambled down the boarding plank as the oil ignited. Just for good measure, he pulled his last demon-killer charge, set the detonator, and tossed it on board. It wasn't much, but it would make it harder for anything to survive.

* * *

Minako was so glad she'd brought her camera.

* * *

Xander usually picked up a cup of coffee, a newspaper, and a tabloid on the way to work. It was simple, expedient, and kept him up to date on things both mundane and supernatural. Giles had thrown his hands up in despair when he'd first suggested checking the tabloids back in England, before he shipped out to Africa, but it was an effective way to get an early heads-up on the weird... even if he did get the idea from a movie.

_Hmm,_ he thought, _there's the stuff on the fyarl demon two nights ago... a couple of Brachen sightings... hmm, looks like we've got a vamp nest. I'll have to check that out._

He ducked into the changing room and quickly traded his street clothes for the suit he was required to wear. Reclaiming his coffee and newspaper, he took a long pull and looked at the front page...

Pssshhhttt!

...and spat his mouthful of coffee five feet away.

One of the other members of the security detail looked at him, "What's wrong?"

Xander coughed, thumped his chest, and shook his head, "Nothing! Nothing at all. Just... drank too fast."

Splashed across the front page was a headline that read "Mysterious Vigilante Declares War On Drug Smugglers!" accompanied by a picture of the Kage Maru in flames, a silhouette of a man standing before it.

And Xander was pretty sure that silhouette was his.

* * *

"Hi, Hotaru," Xander waved. Okay, perhaps calling before a stakeout and setting up a date for the night after the stakeout might not have been the best idea...

Despite his efforts, he knew he must look like hell.

Not that this was a date. Of course not. They were just going to talk over dinner about her healing powers and some of the freaky-creepy in the world.

* * *

Author's Note:

Raise your hand if you actually think he's fooling anyone.

Uh huh. Thought so.

* * *

Hotaru frowned, "You're hurt again."

"Yeah, well..." Xander hemmed and hawed.

"I know you were fine two nights ago," she said crossly. "What happened?"

"Damn it," he mumbled under his breath, "it's not my fault demons love slamming me into concrete..." Xander cleared his throat and answered, "I had a bit of an accident on the way home." _She's just getting a grip on vampires being real. Who knows how she'd react to finding out about demons?_

"An accident?" Hotaru sputtered in disbelief. _Not even Usagi's this accident-prone,_ she thought. "Where do you work anyway?" she asked.

"The British Embassy."

"Oh."

Now she thought she understood. She'd read Ian Fleming.

* * *

It was, Hotaru decided, a good day. Oh, sure, Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa seemed preoccupied with something, and Setsuna-mama hadn't been seen for a week, but that was actually fairly normal.

That her date was apparently some kind of vampire-hunting secret agent for the British government certainly added a whole new level of "cool" to the situation, and as a bonus, it meant he wasn't freaking out over her ability to heal people!

They were at a secluded table in the back corner of a nice Italian restaurant. Soft violin music was piped in through overhead speakers, and there was enough of a crowd scattered throughout the restaurant to create enough noise to covered their quiet conversation.

"So why does a vampire turn to dust like that?"

"I don't really know," Xander said. "There are two competing theories on that, though. One, the demon soul flash fries the body as it leaves, or two, the demonic energies decay the body rapidly but hold it together and intact while it's in residence. Personally, I'm betting on theory one."

"Oh," Hotaru said, not knowing what else to say to that. While she knew why youma and their ilk dusted -- they were artificial constructs of magical energy that just fell apart once that energy stopped -- she couldn't really apply the same logic to vampires. After all, unlike youma, they had real bodies.

"You said..." she hesitated, "you said healing magic was difficult. Why?"

"You have to be very precise," Xander explained. "Do too much, and you cause cancer. Don't do enough, and you could cause complications such as scar tissue. Go sideways a little, and you get all sorts of other problems. Plus you've got to deal with ancillary problems like infection, and healing diseases is even harder."

"Because you have to remove all the infectious agents," Hotaru guessed, "or rewrite the DNA in every affected cell for genetic diseases, right?"

Xander blinked and mumbled, "Uh, yeah, something like that, I guess." He'd never actually known the specifics and hadn't really inquired too deeply into that area. He'd managed to commit to memory the first half of Willow's babble on the dangers of healing magic before his eyes started glazing over, though.

They lapsed into silence, which Xander would normally have been happy with if she wasn't shooting those looks at him.

For her part, Hotaru was wondering what to say next. Between shooting covert glances at him and the occasional bite from her food, she wasn't coming up with any ideas.

* * *

Xander was not comfortable. He was currently walking through a park, at night, holding hands with a very attractive young woman. That was three for three for things that had never worked out well for him in the past.

"So, where are you from, Xander?" Hotaru asked, breaking the silence that had started in the restaurant.

"California," he said. "Sunnydale."

She gasped, "You mean...?"

"Yeah," he said with a humorless smile, "the Sinkhole. I was there when it went down."

"Must've been quite a sight."

He looked up at the sky, "Yeah, well, I had other things on my mind at the time."

Hotaru frowned at the look on Xander's face. In an instant, he had gone from right next to her to a million kilometers away. What happened then... whatever it was... must have torn him apart.

"Let me tell you about my family," she said, flashing him a sunny smile. She hated seeing him like this.

Some of Haruka-papa's more amusing antics should lighten him up.

* * *

"She actually did that?" Xander laughed in disbelief. "You're kidding? I never thought anyone could put two hundred pounds of Jell-O to good use like that!"

"She still refuses to talk about it," Hotaru said with a smile as they stopped. The walk had taken them from the restaurant, through the park, to where they stood now, outside her home. "I had a great time tonight."

"So did I," he replied.

Suddenly, they spun until they were back to back and looked around, scanning the immediate area, heads whipping around comically.

After a moment without any attacking undead, demonic, magical, or parental forces, they relaxed and turned to face each other again. Xander scratched the back of his head and chuckled as Hotaru simply blushed and looked down, clasping her hands together in embarrassment.

"Uh..." Xander coughed. "I guess... I guess I'll be going now."

"Wait," Hotaru said, looking up at him. She reached up and pulled his head down, tiptoeing just long enough to brush her lips across his.

At least, that was the plan, but a quick peck turned into a long kiss, which turned into... something else. It wasn't mad with passion, but there was something... different.

After a moment, they broke apart, and Xander stumbled away. "I'll, uh... I'll see you later," he said, resisting the urge to start whistling as he left.

Hotaru just stood there, a dazed look on her face, for the next minute or so.

_What on Earth was that he did his tongue?_

* * *

Author's Postscript:

Heheheh. Xander's Magnificent Tongue strikes again!


	5. Chapter Four

Title: Under an Iron Moon (4 of ?) 

Author: Cyclone

Feedback: Please be gentle.

Distribution: Gimme credit and a link.

Rating: Nothing too bad.

Spoilers: Up to the end of both series.

Disclaimer: The characters depicted herein belong to other people. I'm just borrowing them for a while.

Summary: Xander discovers he's not as normal as he thinks.

Author's Note: THIS is certainly a rare crossover. Credit goes to Yorath for his delightful input and some suggested scenes that will appear throughout this series.

* * *

Click. Skrik-skrik-skrik. Click. Skrik-skrik-skrik. 

She knew she shouldn't be here, but with the bonus she'd gotten for the picture of the one-eyed man last night, she couldn't resist. She had to get another shot.

Besides, the editor had been very obvious about how much he'd like to see more on this.

So, here she was, Minako Aino, photojournalist, following up on her first big break.

Where was the idol girl wannabe now?

She smiled to herself at that. It felt strangely liberating to be behind the camera for once. On the other hand...

_Hmm... maybe..._

She froze as she saw someone else step over the police line.

It was him.

The man looked around warily, and she hunkered down, resisting the urge to lick her lips. After a moment, apparently assured that he wouldn't be disturbed, he clambered aboard the burned husk of the Kage Maru and began to dig around. Releasing her breath, she crawled back to the roof access door and climbed down into the warehouse.

"Venus Crystal Power, Make Up," she whispered.

* * *

After several minutes of waiting while digging through the wreckage, Xander finally stopped and asked, "So, you gonna say something, or are you just gonna stand there all day?" 

"Eep!" came the startled reply, and as he looked up, he saw one of the Sailor Senshi step out into view. "How'd you know I was here?"

He shrugged, "Just a feeling." He glanced at her miniskirt, "Isn't that a bit too short to be legal?"

"Regulation, actually," she said with a smile and a shrug. She hopped over to stand next to him and added, "In case you hadn't noticed, it's kind of a uniform."

Xander shook his head, "What is with me and superpowered girls in miniskirts?"

Venus blinked, "You've met the others?" She then scowled, "And they didn't tell me?"

"No," Xander shook his head, "unless you count that mess with the fyarl the other night. Just a few friends of mine back home with a similar fashion sense."

"Oh," she responded. "Thanks, by the way. We probably would've gotten our butts kicked without you." She squatted over by where he had resumed digging through the wreckage. "What're you looking for?"

"This boat was run by demons," Xander replied. "I'm looking to see what they were hauling." After a moment, he asked, "How'd you find me? Was it that article in the paper?"

"Uhh..."

Xander blinked, then blinked again, and then shook his head, thinking to himself, _Can't be. There's no way my luck is that bad._ Out loud, he asked, "Do you know who wrote the article?"

"Umm..." She blinked and pointed, "Hey, what's that?"

Xander looked down, and then tried to wrestle the small crate out. "Definitely something worth looking into..." he muttered. He looked up, "And don't dodge the question."

_Busted,_ she thought. "Well," she said, "you know how Spiderman has Peter Parker?"

"Yeah..." Xander said carefully. _Damn. My luck really is that bad._

"Well, something kinda like that," she explained, "only instead of getting me last night, she kinda got you."

Xander looked at her, "So you knew this was happening, and you didn't bring any backup?"

"That would have attracted an awful lot of attention..." she hedged.

"..." Xander respondedly eloquently. "Fine. Could you at least help me with this?" he asked, as he finally got the crate out and onto the burned deck. "Knowing my luck, that skimpy little costume change comes with a super-strength boost. Am I right?"

"A little," she replied as she bent to the task, "but not that much. How'd you guess?"

He sighed in resignation, "Experience."

After a few moments' struggle, they managed to get it open.

"It's... an arm."

"Get back!" Xander called as he jerked away from the crate himself, narrowly evading the arm's reach.

Sailor Venus shrieked as the arm tried to reach for her, and she leaped clear off the boat. "Venus Love and Beauty Shock!" she cried at the apex of her jump.

At the heart-shaped magical blast, the blue-skinned arm quiesced long enough for Xander to slam the lid shut again and put his full weight on it. As it stirred and began to struggle again, he drew a pistol and began to fire repeatedly into it.

"No," he corrected. "It's a Judge arm. Looks like we've got another apocalypse on our hands here..."

She stared. "'Another'?"

"That's it," he mumbled, glaring at the box and not paying any attention to her, "this time we find a nice active volcano as soon as this is over with... maybe Hawaii..."

"Actually, we have no intention of reviving the Judge," came another voice. "The arm, please. That's really all we want."

Xander looked up and leveled his gun at the demon standing there. "And why would I believe you?" He looked at the demon for a moment and asked coolly, "Brachen?"

The demon held his hands up defensively, "Okay... the hand, then? A bone? We're not asking for much here. Just a piece."

* * *

There was a pregnant silence, and the demon swallowed nervously, but kept his head bowed. 

"Let me get this straight," the cloaked figure strode over to him. "This man -- whom you've never seen before, but was in the company of a Sailor Senshi -- not only identified Garrick as a brachen demon, but also recognized the Judge's arm?"

"Yes, m'lord."

"And you not only let him live, but let him get away with the Judge's arm?"

"I could not stop him, m'lord."

"And you didn't even have him followed!" the cloaked figure whirled around in fury. "Why am I surrounded by idiots? I don't recall killing anyone for being too smart, so why am I surrounded by idiots? First the fyarl, now this." He glared at him, "Get out of my sight."

"Yes, m'lord!" the demon fled.

He glared at his aide-de-camp, "I believe I need to review the hiring standards you've been working with. I don't want mindless drones. I want people with initiative, people who can think."

"But, Master, such people would be a threat to your rule," his second protested. _And mine,_ he added silently.

"Dear God, do you think I plan to rule the world all by myself? The paperwork alone would kill me."

* * *

"So, what was that all about?" 

"Honestly, Venus, I don't know," Xander shrugged, "but whatever it is, it isn't good. The Judge was a demon who couldn't be stopped by any weapon forged by man and with the ability to burn humanity off the face of the planet."

"So, what are you going to do with the arm?"

"I know some people who can dispose of it. Don't worry."

The Senshi of Venus frowned at him. They were on the roof of a deserted building, which afforded them a good view of their surroundings.

"So, what brings you to Tokyo?" she asked. "How do you know so much about youma?"

"Grow up on the mouth of hell, you learn a few things," he shrugged again.

Venus took a moment to digest that. While a part of her wanted to trust him -- he had, after all, killed all those youma and probably saved their lives with that... what did he call it? A fyarl demon? -- she couldn't help but recall the stunning number of coincidences in the past.

If there was one thing she had learned as a Sailor Senshi, it was that new arrivals that showed up just when the new enemy did tended to either be the enemy... or a new ally. Which one he was was still up for debate.

She'd have to introduce him to Luna. If past history was any indication, the less Luna trusted him, the more trustworthy he was likely to be.

"All right, I'll get straight to the point here," Venus said. "Are you here to hurt us?"

He blinked, "No, why would I want to do that?"

"Because most of the new, cute guys we run across tend to want to hurt us."

Xander stared at her for a moment, then started rubbing his temples, "I thought I was the only one with that problem."

"You have cute guys showing up to hurt you too?" she asked, confusion and growing horror on her face.

"No," he said with a shudder. "Beautiful women. So I suppose I could ask you the same thing."

"Oh," she blushed as relief flooded through her. "So where do the cute guys come in?"

"They tend to go for one of my friends," he shrugged. "She tends to attract the tall, dark, and homicidal types."

"Wow," Sailor Venus sat on the low wall marking the roof's edge. "So, what now?"

"You tell me," he said. "I mean, how come you've so quiet the past ten years, for example? Local hellmouth close or something?"

"Hell-what?"

"Hellmouth. It's a mystical convergence where the barriers between dimensions are weakened, making it easier for demons and other nasties to cross over."

"Oh!" Sailor Venus nodded. "Well, it would actually explain a lot, but we never knew about anything like that."

"You mean there's other weird things out there to worry about?"

She nodded, "Yup."

Xander gave her a speculative look, "Like what?"

Sailor Venus looked around for a moment and then whispered, "Do you believe in aliens?"

"Lay off the X-Files, Venus," Xander deadpanned.

She stamped her foot and glared at him -- Xander knew this wasn't going to be fun -- and insisted, "Aliens are real!"

"Look, I'm not gonna argue," he said, holding his hands up placatingly. "It's just... the only alien I ever ran into was still a demon."

"Well, the only demons I ever ran across were aliens... at least, I think they were," she amended. "They were from other planets, at any rate."

Xander looked at Venus for a second and then shook his head, "You know, for some odd reason, that actually made sense."

Venus nodded, "Just wait until you meet the others." _Mineminemineminemine._

"And when will that be?" Xander asked, just as Sailor Venus's communicator began beeping.

"Sooner than I thought," she replied with a sigh as she answered.

* * *

Author's Postscript: 

No, I haven't abandoned this one.


	6. Chapter Five

Title: Under an Iron Moon (5 of ?) 

Author: Cyclone

Feedback: Please be gentle.

Distribution: Gimme credit and a link.

Rating: Nothing too bad.

Spoilers: Up to the end of both series.

Disclaimer: The characters depicted herein belong to other people. I'm just borrowing them for a while.

Summary: Xander discovers he's not as normal as he thinks.

Author's Note: THIS is certainly a rare crossover. Credit goes to Yorath for his delightful input and some suggested scenes that will appear throughout this series.

* * *

Xander followed the explosions.

He had swung by the British embassy and dropped off the Judge arm with his Watcher contact there first -- it was too dangerous to risk taking near an enemy -- while Sailor Venus made a beeline for the fight her fellow Senshi were calling her in on.

Leaving Xander with no clue where to go. Until he heard the explosions.

Parking his car about a block away from the fight, he hoofed it the rest of the way, checking his weapons. He was lightly armed, with only a silver dagger, his Colt, and a sawed-off double-barrelled twelve-gauge. A good arsenal as long as he wasn't up against something armor-plated.

He stopped as he came in sight of the battle and came to the conclusion that he was decidedly underarmed. The eight-foot demon -- orange-skinned and with the usual array of horns and claws -- was weathering the storm of Senshi attacks with a disturbing level of nonchalance. He also didn't recognize the demon species, which only made it more difficult.

Xander looked around. There had to be something he could do.

* * *

"Sailor Mercury, anything?" Sailor Mars asked.

The blue-haired Senshi shook her head, "Nothing. Whatever it is, my computer can't get a solid reading on it."

"Deep Submerge!"

The youma shrugged off the attack, then turned and caught Sailor Uranus's wrist as she tried to swing her Space Sword in an overhand strike from behind. It grinned at her and promptly lifted her off the ground.

Swinging her over its head once, it hurled her at Sailor Neptune.

CRASH!

That was when a new factor entered the battle.

* * *

_This is bad,_ Xander thought. _This is very, very bad._

He had spotted the construction site near the battle and commandeered a cement truck. Not bothering with little details like finding a clear path, he had simply rammed through the wooden fence in a straight-line course for the demon.

The demon had turned in surprise. That was the good news.

The demon then braced itself and caught the truck, stopping it dead after moving only a few feet, tearing up the asphalt with its clawed feet. That was the bad news.

And now, it was leering at him through the windshield.

Well, at least there was something he could do something about that grin on its face. He plucked the sawed-off from the passenger side foot area where it had fallen when he'd rammed the demon and aimed straight at its face.

"Smile," he grinned and fired both barrels.

What happened next requires some additional information.

First, the demon in question was very strong, able to -- as had occurred moments ago -- stop several tons of cement and truck after only a few feet. However, it had to brace itself in order to do so. Without this bracing, it was not strong enough to win against a cement truck's powerful diesel engine.

Second, Xander never took his foot off the accelerator.

So, when the demon reacted on instinct, letting go of the cement truck's frame and grabbing its face as eighteen lead pellets shattered its face, the cement truck's massive engine overpowered it, ramming it into the opposite building.

"Oh, shiiiit!"

CRASH!

* * *

"Oh, noooo!"

"What?" Sailor Mars blinked at their leader in surprise. "He took out the youma. That's a good thing, isn't it?"

"That was my favorite ice cream shop!"

Sailor Mars groaned in exasperation. Sometimes, Usagi amazed her with her maturity, intelligence, and poise.

This was obviously not one of those times.

* * *

Xander groaned and clutched his head. On the plus side, he had only blacked out for a moment, and he was pretty sure didn't have a concussion. Yet, anyway, knowing his luck. On the minus side, he now had a splitting headache, and his eyes were watering.

"Are you all right?"

Xander turned and mentally catalogued the Senshi who had -- apparently -- ripped the cement truck's door off. Long brown hair in a ponytail, green eyes, green highlights on the uniform, pink bow, very... large...

_Don't go there, Xander,_ he scolded himself as he shook himself out of it. He turned and reached toward the dash where the sawed-off lay, "Just tell me it's dea-..."

He recoiled just before grabbing the shotgun as an arm burst through the windshield. He scrambled out of the cab... and tripped.

"Um, hi."

Sailor Jupiter looked up at the hunk lying on top of her and replied dreamily, "Hi."

"Sailor... Jupiter, right?"

"Uh huh," she nodded, still mesmerized by the... closeness of the situation. _He knows who I am!_ she crowed mentally.

For his part, Xander absent-mindedly noted that her... "assets" ...were entirely natural. Once he got through that thought, however, he remembered the ridiculously strong demon not five feet away and scrambled to his feet, offering her a hand up, which she took.

_Mmm, nice and strong too,_ she thought.

It should be noted at this point that she was acutely aware of two major reasons she had very little luck with men. The first was that she was a fighter, and guys tended to be upset about women who could kick their asses. The second was that she was unusually tall, and guys generally had issues with women taller than them. This guy, however...

"-un!"

She blinked, "Huh?"

"I said, 'Get your pretty little ass moving and RUN!'" he roared, shoving her ahead of him as he ran.

Xander turned as the explosive charge he had placed on the cement truck's fuel tank detonated. The entire truck was in flames, but he was pretty sure it wasn't dead yet.

He sighed, "I lose more guns that way..."

* * *

"There's trouble."

"Yeeek!" the Senshi jumped.

Sailor Mars glared at the newest arrival, "Don't do that, Pluto!"

She ignored her. "Something is interfering with..." she trailed off. "Oh."

Xander blinked at her, "What?"

"It's you," she said. She looked at the other Senshi, "Nevermind. False alarm."

It was at that point that a roar drew their attention. The demon was now free of the burning wreckage, and its face seemed entirely healed.

Sailor Pluto raised an eyebrow, "A drenfrax demon. Armored hide, magic resistance, regeneration. No wonder you were having problems."

"'Drenfrax'?" Xander repeated, searching his memory. "Don't you have to hit it in the heart to kill it?"

"Yes," Sailor Pluto nodded. "Dead Scream."

The demon flew into the building, and Sailor Uranus took the opportunity, launching herself at it and impaling it through the chest with the Space Sword.

WHAM!

Sailor Pluto walked over to where her fellow Outer Senshi had fallen and bent down to pick up the Space Sword. "It helps if you know where the heart is."

"Right side, lower abdomen," Xander said, finally remembering the reference he'd run across as he slapped another charge on the demon's chest and rolled away.

The blast knocked the demon back again, and she calmly walked up and skewered it. "About where the appendix would be in a human," she said, nodding toward Xander.

Sailor Moon stared, "Okay, that was just creepy." She looked to the other Senshi, "Did anyone else find that creepy?"

There were nods all around. It should, however, be noted that Sailor Venus and Sailor Jupiter weren't really paying attention to what they were nodding to. Nor, for that matter, were Sailor Neptune or Sailor Uranus.

Xander looked at the newest arrival, who met his gaze resolutely. For a long moment, they looked at each other with respect, like fellow warriors.

"So, umm..." Xander said, breaking the silence and ruining the moment. "I don't remember seeing you in any of the files I read, so I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you're either Sailor Earth, Sailor Saturn, or Sailor Pluto."

She smiled faintly, "Pluto. There is no Sailor Earth." She inclined her head, "And it would be Sailor Terra if there were."

"Good to know," he replied.

She nodded, then turned, took a few steps, and teleported away.

Xander looked at the remaining Senshi and walked up to Tuxedo Kamen, "Look, I'm here as a representative of the New Watchers' Council." He reached into a pocket and pulled out a pen and scrap of paper. He scribbled something down and said, "I was sent here to investigate the demonic activity in the area and make contact with the Senshi and offer our assistance. Here," he handed the piece of paper to Tuxedo Kamen, "you can get in touch with me at that phone number."

"Uh, okay, thanks," Tuxedo Kamen blinked.

"Now, if you'll excuse, I'm gonna go make myself scarce before the media shows up."

* * *

Author's Postscript:

If anyone was wondering, I was several hundred miles away from my computer for the past three weeks, hence the lack of updates.


End file.
